Lloyd Russell-Moyle

Whilst IPSA cannot enter into formal negotiations that would have any binding effect on the individual decisions of MPs as employers, IPSA is happy to work in any effective way that it can with staff representatives to ensure that their voice is heard, and seen to be heard.

IPSA does not set MPs’ staff pay as MPs are the individual employers of their staff as a matter of law. IPSA has, however, proactively sought meetings and discussions with staff representatives and has significantly increased engagement with MPs’ staff over recent years. This has included regular meetings with its MP Staff User Group, joining the House of Commons’ Office Manager group, and through inviting staff representatives, such as Unite, the Members and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA), and Wellness Working Group, to IPSA Board meetings to share their insight and views. IPSA has also liaised in recent years with the GMB trade union.

IPSA is very grateful for the high volume of valuable feedback it has received through these series of feedback channels. This has enabled IPSA to survey MP staff on casework workload, budgets, and wellbeing, and check in at each House Office Manager meeting, with such engagement valuable to IPSA in proposing a staffing uplift during the covid-19 pandemic and in establishing an exceptional funding process for the pressures created during the Afghan withdrawal in August 2021.

In addition to the channels above, direct representations from staff groups were considered as part of the proposals which IPSA made on MPs’ staffing budgets. Specific examples for 2023/24 budgets include meetings with Unite and MAPSA on 26 May, 14 June, and 21 November 2022, and with the GMB union on 16 December.

In 2023, the IPSA Board has scheduled Board meetings on 22 February, 29 March, 28 June, 12 and 13 September, 18 October, and 13 December.

The Government has been liaising with territorial offices and the devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on this important issue.

Officials will continue to work with their counterparts across the devolved administrations to discuss the UK Government’s approach to protecting everyone in England and Wales from conversion therapy practices.

The Government has been liaising with territorial offices and the devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on this important issue.

Officials will continue to work with their counterparts across the devolved administrations to discuss the UK Government’s approach to protecting everyone in England and Wales from conversion therapy practices.

The Government has engaged with a wide range of international counterparts including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Malta, to understand the approaches they have taken to ban conversion therapy. We will continue to engage with counterparts around the world that are committed to protecting everyone from conversion practices to share insight and develop our approach.

The Equality Hub Ministers and officials have met with healthcare professionals in developing the policy approach to protecting all individuals from conversion practices. Many such organisations responded to the public consultation that closed in February 2022.

We will continue to meet with healthcare professionals to inform our approach and will respond to the consultation in due course.

The Equality Hub Ministers and officials have met with healthcare professionals in developing the policy approach to protecting all individuals from conversion practices. Many such organisations responded to the public consultation that closed in February 2022.

We will continue to meet with healthcare professionals to inform our approach and will respond to the consultation in due course.

Since May 2022, the Government has launched a support service open to all victims or those at risk of conversion practices regardless of their background or circumstances. The Government has committed up to £360,000 over three years to this service. The service includes a helpline, instant messaging service, and website to enable people to get the support they need.

More widely, the Government remains committed to protecting everyone from these practices. We are carefully considering the responses to the public consultation which closed earlier this year and will respond in due course.

The 2018 LGBT Action Plan was introduced by the previous administration. We have set out our plan for LGBT advancement for this Government and our priorities are banning Conversion Therapy and hosting the Global LGBT Conference. The objective was, and continues to be, to defend, extend and promote the rights and freedoms of LGBT people here and abroad.

We have achieved a great deal for LGBT people since 2018, including appointing the UK’s first National LGBT Health Adviser, more than doubling the number of places available on the PrEP Impact Trial, running a world-leading anti-homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying programme in schools and working with the Home Office to update the Hate Crime Action Plan.

Any ban we bring forward must work for those who need it most, especially victims and survivors. We have also already met with conversion therapy survivors, to hear about their experiences. We have committed to launching a consultation in September and this will be vital for ensuring the action we take is informed, effective and proportionate. I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of conversion therapy to respond to our consultation when it launches in September.

Further to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020, it is taking longer than usual to compile a new List of Ministerial Responsibilities document including as a result of the challenges of Covid-19. An update will be published in due course.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 43737 on 11 May 2020.

Details of ministerial responsibilities can be found on GOV.UK. The List of Ministerial Responsibilities document was last updated in October 2019 and was made available in PDF and CSV formats. An update will be published in due course.

The Government has no plans to change the daylight saving arrangements. The Government believes that the current daylight saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.

While there is the potential for some benefits from a change in the current arrangements, there is also a real risk of negative impacts. A change to permanent summertime or double summertime may also have significant impacts on certain sectors and businesses.

The Government believes that clients who commission work from small firms or individual tradespeople, should pay invoices as swiftly as possible. This ensures that they have the cash flow to enable them to continue to operate. Firms and tradespeople have recourse to the Small Claims Court, in cases where clients persistently refuse to pay. On 2 October, the Government announced new measures to back small businesses and tackle late payments as part of the Prompt Payment and Cash Flow Review, including extending and improving the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017. The full review will be published shortly.

We are committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as quickly as possible. Work is ongoing across Government to deliver these new entitlements.

Delivery requires updates to HMRC IT systems and parliamentary consideration of a significant amount of secondary legislation, which will take approximately 18 months.

It is also necessary to align the ‘go live’ date with the start of a tax year. This means April 2025 is the earliest date for the introduction of Neonatal Care Leave and Pay.

Following the substantial conclusion of negotiations on Friday 31 March, the next step will be to officially sign the agreement that the Government has struck with CPTPP Parties. This will take place following the completion of the legal review process, which is now ongoing

The negotiation outcome will be set out in a Protocol of Accession. This document and the UK’s agreed market access schedules will be published at the point of signature.

On 1 September 2023, the UK announced it would review its membership of the Energy Charter Treaty if the modernised Treaty was not adopted by November 2023. The Government is considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society, and Parliament as part of this review.

The Department does not have the breakdowns for workforce groups in the combined oil and gas sector. I refer the hon Member to the 2022 OEUK Workforce Insights Report which includes breakdowns of the workforce including by region and job description.

The Department expects that the proportion of total UK oil production from heavy oil fields is likely to be broadly the same in 2035 as it is now.

The UK is a net importer of both gas and oil. Gas produced in the UK is the equivalent to about half of our demand; offshore crude production is equivalent to around 90 per cent of refinery demand (5-year average 2018-2022). However, due to UK refinery specifications and global market conditions, around 80% of the oil produced in the UK is refined overseas into the products demanded by the UK market. It is not desirable to force private companies to “allocate” oil and gas produced in the North Sea for domestic use.

The Climate Change Committee was not asked to comment on the risk tables.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State keeps under review the UK's progress towards net zero and its interim carbon budgets and will take further action, if needed, to ensure that there are sufficient proposals and policies in place to meet her legal duties.

The Department does not intend to publish the risk tables, which were internal documents created to support the development of the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, published in March this year.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero closely engages with developers and relevant stakeholders to help facilitate the delivery of interconnection projects as part of the Government’s energy security and net zero strategy.

In June, officials from the Department held a meeting with the National Grid Electricity System Operator and NeuConnect developers to discuss the progression of the project. Once completed, the interconnector would be the first direct link between the UK and Germany’s electricity grids.